Santa Fe Refrigerator Department reefers are the latest Resin Car Works HO scale freight car kit! A total of 1,360 SFRD rebuilds in the RR-35, -36, -39, and -40 classes were added in the mid-1940s. This new kit reflects these prototypes. Decals were created directly from prototype images. Tahoe Models #012 USRA 50-ton Andrews sideframes are provided in the kit.
Visit our website for details and ordering information.
Kit updates
In other Resin Car Works kit news, the CB&Q XM-32 AAR 40-foot steel boxcar (Kit 8.01) is again available. Our decal supply has been replenished and kits are shipping for those orders that had been on hand.
Our AC&F Type 27, 10,000-gallon, insulated tank car kits (Kit 6.0) are no longer available. All of our formerly available kits can be found on this webpage. Click on any of those model names or images to access the original information pages plus the links to the kit Extras pages.
All of our kit instructions are available as downloadable PDF files that are on the Extras page for each specific kit.
Keep on building!
These label for these reefers is slightly incorrect. The “D” in SFRD for the time period of these reefers stands for “Department”.
On July 1 (or July 21 according to some sources), 1902, the Santa Fe incorporated the Santa Fe Refrigerator Despatch organization as an independent company using the assets of the Santa Fe Fruit & Refrigerator Lines. This was just one of several reorganization actions taken by the railroad at that time. The Santa Fe Refrigerator Despatch Company was to handle all perishable freight in system.
On August 18, 1918, the United States Railway Administration announced that the SFRD (Despatch) would be under Federal control of the USRA effective January 1, 1919. Subsequently, the United States Railway Administration eliminated Santa Fe Refrigerator Despatch on that date. USRA took control of SFRD (Despatch) cars with the operation of the cars remaining under the Santa Fe Railway.
The Santa Fe immediately reorganized Despatch, which was a separate company, as the Santa Fe Refrigerator Department, a department of the railroad, thus allowing more control of the refrigerator cars and operations as allowed under the USRA. SFRD then stood for Santa Fe Refrigerator Department.
As late as 1924 (six years after the “D” stood for Department) the Official Railway Equipment Registers SFRD reporting marks were still listed as Santa Fe Refrigerator DESPATCH. The Registers had not caught up with the official change.
Bob Chaparro
Moderator & Owner
Railroad Citrus Industry Modeling Group
Thanks for the info, Bob! I appreciate it. – Eric H.